Mosquitoland by David Arnold -- Review

Title: Mosquitoland 
Author: David Arnold
Pages: 336
Publishing: March 3rd 2015 by Viking Children's 

Summary: 

"I am a collection of oddities, a circus of neurons and electrons: my heart is the ringmaster, my soul is the trapeze artist, and the world is my audience. It sounds strange because it is, and it is, because I am strange." 

After the sudden collapse of her family, Mim Malone is dragged from her home in northern Ohio to the "wastelands" of Mississippi, where she lives in a medicated milieu with her dad and new stepmom. Before the dust has a chance to settle, she learns her mother is sick back in Cleveland.

So she ditches her new life and hops aboard a northbound Greyhound bus to her real home and her real mother, meeting a quirky cast of fellow travelers along the way. But when her thousand-mile journey takes a few turns she could never see coming, Mim must confront her own demons, redefining her notions of love, loyalty, and what it means to be sane.

Told in an unforgettable, kaleidoscopic voice, "Mosquitoland" is a modern American odyssey, as hilarious as it is heartbreaking.

Review: 

Alright, time to be extremely unpopular. I didn't like this book. It pains me to say it because I really wanted to like it. I actually tried to talk myself into liking it, but I just couldn't. I feel a little relieved to admit that. Now don't get me wrong, there were some really deep and interesting parts of the novel and lots of thoughtful quotes, but it just wasn't for me. 

Why wasn't it for me? I felt like the young protagonist Mim was a little too mature and philosophical for her age. There were so many times where she would just stop and go off on a tangent that took some serious attention, and I felt that these tangents did not really add to the story. The words are beautifully written, but I just didn't feel like I could connect to them. 

It has been difficult for me to right negative things about this book because there were definitely some important life topics discussed. I appreciated the novel in that sense, but I still just had such a hard time connecting to the characters and I think that is really what made me dislike this book. The style of Mosquitoland was quite similar to some of John Green's novels, so if you are a fan of that type of book, I would suggest giving Mosquitoland a shot. Just because I didn't like it doesn't mean you won't! 

Rating 2/5